How did you spend your hour?

Last night all around the world, people turned out the lights for one hour.

our earth needs a break so earth hour set up this event and it caught on like wild fire. Go check out their site for more info and a great map of all the participants. Here on the urban farm we were very excited. We had lots of discussions about Laura Ingalls and what is will be like when the big girl moves to her farm in Montana.

The high point of our night was bath time by candle light. We then climbed into bed with candles all around the room and read more of our new favorite book "The Secret Garden".

how did you spend your earth hour?

meet the dragonfly artisans

meet the dragonfly artisans

there was a photo here but i forgot to ask first. sorry for the tease.

On the left we have the most talented paper, front and center, our beloved belfry ( where else would she be) and on the right is me the maltagirl herself (otherwise known as soap). but wait one of us is missing....Felt, where are you felt. well my wand isn't working and she seems to have walked out of the picture for the moment. Go and check out every bodies blog and stay tuned for new projects, shop updates and show notices.

see alaster cook

Recently Alaster turned two! What did he want for his birthday you ask? No, not a grand party or even a pony (silly boy), no Alaster wanted to "TOOK mama". Translation, he wants to cook and cook he did. He helped me make vegan blueberry pancakes for the big day. By no means was this a passive event . He held the spatula and flipped the pancakes and helped pour in the batter. He was thrilled.

no fancy noise making toys for this kid!

just give him kitchen tools and he will be happy!

how does your garden grow!

here are some shots from my garden! So exciting to watch spring really take hold. There are tomato volunteers everywhere!

What I miss the most!

I miss coffee and salty crunchy little snacks! Why you ask, am I denying myself these necessities of daily life with children? I mean how is a girl to survive the insanity that is raising children full time without some comfort eating! Well it is simple really, I stopped feeling good! My body starting giving me a hundred different indicators that all was not well.

--here is the laundry list of my complaints --

warning this isn't edited for those with a delicate stomach.

read on at your own risk

I could never really get my hair clean. It was always lack luster and kinda greasy ( pretty, I know!). I was easy to anger and frustrated all the time. Short tempers and home schooled children do not mesh my friends. My skin was a mess, lots of break outs and always kinda red and blotchy. My feet were a mess. I had what I thought was athletes foot in between my toes but the rest of my foot was a dry scaly mess that would crack and split so deep that walking was painful. I also had what I thought was jock itch. I told you this was not for the faint of heart. To top it all off, I am way heavier than I want to be. Try like 40 -50 lbs to heavy. I am sorry but that number is daunting!



So what have I been up to in order to fix all this.....well My dearest mother turned me on to this Holistic Nutritionist named Dr. Gillian McKeith. Let me tell you, she rocks! She has a show on the BBC called "You Are What You Eat". It is like going to an AA meeting. So amazing to watch these people go through her program, all their struggles and then the final reveal and success. It is truely amazing.



Through Dr gillian's interactive website, I have signed up for her 8-week program. You go through and fill out an intensive 20 page survey about yourself and you receive a 50 page document in return. This book outlines the changes you need to make in order to seriously change your life. It is a big adjustment at first but as your body starts to shift I have found it less difficult to stick to.



For me this has meant letting go of: Caffine, yeast, wheat, sugar and dairy. What in the world do I eat. Good question, it diffenetly takes planning! Lots of new beans and grains, tons of fruit and veggies. It would be easy to describe it as being vegan but for many people you will be advised to eat lean chicken and fish.



So here's what I am going to do. I am going to have a weekly post where I will document my journey and share one or two fab recipes (either of my own creation or otherwise noted). It is my hope to inspire you to take on your own journey whatever it maybe.

Blue bunnies and the sugar freak!

well I must say, Easter was a raging success over here at Sleepy Hollow Hall. Complete with Easter baskets, an egg hunt and new crafty goodness from mom. I made both children these little yellow felted chicks! I used a combo of wet and dry felting techniques. I am really happy with how they turned out!

With this little blue bunny , I am not as pleased. Much like my dear friend Belfry, I could not get his bum shaped the way I wanted it. The pattern is in the latest issue of Living Crafts. Go it a go and send me your feed back. The good news is that both children love the bunnies to death.

which leads me to the sugar over dose that happened at my house. yes i am sad to say that one to many malted milk robins eggs were consumed by my delightful children. they were flying around the room laughing maniacally!

fun was had by all

until of course they all disolved into tears. and so ends yet another sad sugar high!

my those colors are bright

who exactly picked out this yarn??? Me? When, had I had enough sleep? They really are quite bright aren't they? This is my first Ball band dish cloth from the mason-dixon knitting book. It was fun to knit something that took a bit more attention on my part with out making myself totally crazy. I am really trying to improve my knitting skills this year as I really want to get to the point of making some fitted garments for myself and the kids. My other goal at the moment is to finish what I have. I have seen this challenge pop up from time to time on some of my favorite blogs. The idea is to finish up all those has finished forgotten projects. In my case, I bought a lot of supplies and then never started the project. This dish cloth is one of those sad stories getting a second chance! woo hoo I finished it!

meet the girls

Meet buckbeek, isn't she pretty! she is one of the oldest chicken girls in my little flock.

These three black and white beauties are my silver laced wyandotes

See that pretty gold and black in the middle? She is one of my three gold laced wyandotes. I added the wyandotes last summer and they have just started to lay consistently. I love it when one of the girls lays an egg. She can't wait to show it off. The chicken girl in question start shouting for me to come and she her handy work. So proud of my babies!

If you are interested in chickens of your own, I would be happy to pass on any info I have! I got my new girl from the folks over at path to freedom. Last time I checked they still had some chickens needing homes. Otherwise you can get chicks from your local feed store or Murray McMurray hatcheries. Nothing quite like fresh, free range organic eggs.

life jackets make you silly!

Sorry for the delayed absence, seems like I say this a lot, I know! My family was whisked away on a four day cruise to mexico. How does one say no to that! Answer: one does not say no to four days of not cooking, making beds or sweeping the floor. But i back now and have gotten over the loss of my staff (not really but it would be rude to pout about it right?) Onward mundane world!